Jamie Towell Cook (13 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Sonic Mania Plus in Video Games
Apr 6, 2020
Sonic Mania sees you take control of Sonic and his team mates, Tails and Knuckles as you revisit some very familiar stages from Sonics past to take on Dr. Eggman (or Robotnik if your old school) and his latest creations. In a race to collect the seven chaos emeralds and save the day.
Mania Plus also sees the return of two characters that have been locked away in the vaults for some time now. Mighty The Armadillo & Ray The Flying (Gliding) Squirrel. All characters are equipped with their own unique skill set to help you traverse the levels and discover new areas and secrets.
Mania ditches all the gimmicks that have been the sonic series' shortcomings and returns to simpler times of side scrolling fast paced action that are plucked straight from the early 90's. Familiar levels to any fan of the golden era and even more familiar soundtrack. This also brings back the dread of the underwater level and that inevitable countdown sound that has haunted your childhood dreams and will do once again.
The game isn't just for single players though, the main story is as much fun now with sonic and tails as it was for sonic 2 & 3. Where you will be constantly shouting at the player controlling sonic that they've left you behind and then using Tails as a meat shield to defeat the end of level bosses. There is a race mode for other players to join in on, time attack mode to keep besting your own personal score. An endless supply of blue sphere stages to unlock and even the return of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. There is plenty in this game to keep you entertained for a very long time.
Heres hoping that Mania 2 isn't too far away. Hopefully with even more character selection redeeming all those newer characters that have been unfortunate enough to be featured on some of the more questionable sonic titles. I personally would love to see Team Chaotix, Amy Rose, Cream & Chao, Big, Rouge, Shadow, Blaze and maybe even the babylon rogues. Maybe even a few blasts from the past like Johnny Lightfoot, Porker Lewis and Shortfuse from the sonic the comics.
All in all, a much better addition to the wounded Sonic series.
156Reviews (7 KP) rated Extra Ordinary (2019) in Movies
May 1, 2020 (Updated May 1, 2020)
The film begins by introducing us to Rose Dooley (Maeve Higgins), a very single driving instructor in a small town who has a “Talent”. She can talk to Ghosts. After the death of her father when she was a child, Rose no longer uses these talents though. She spends her days teaching the locals how to drive, and her evenings with no trousers on, eating microwavable meals for one and ignoring messages on her phone from people asking for supernatural help. That is until she gets a call from Martin Martin, who is being haunted by his dead ex-wife, and her journey back to the exorcism business begins.
What this film does best is keep the ordinary and the supernatural events very grounded. Instead of screaming angry spirits howling in the night they see messages like “You must pay ..... The car tax” or “Dog has worms”. The dead don't stick around to terrorise, they are here to make sure we're doing the recycling properly, or donating enough money to charity. Even Christian Winter (Will Forte) the satanist pop-star dubbed “One hit Winter” seems like an every-day man, doing the ironing and making cups of tea between sacrifices and demon summoning.
As the films big-bad, Will Forte does a decent job of keeping the film flowing, even if it is almost identical to his Last man on Earth performance. It's Rose and Martins relationship that really pulls the film forward. After Martins Daughter starts floating in mid-air, he reaches out to Rose for help. Directors Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman succeed in making Rose and Martins journey through the mysterious, humorous yet believable, a will they-won't they without the cheesiness.
Overall this is a very funny, well made film, not afraid to take the time from driving the plot to include some great, if possibly unnecessary scenes, Christian Winter's driving lesson is a particular highlight. Everybody involved has done an excellent job making a great film. It's absurd, it's funny, it's weird, it's well worth a watch.
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MelanieTheresa (997 KP) rated The Shape of Night in Books
Oct 11, 2019
"After an unspeakable tragedy in Boston, Ava Collette flees to a remote village in Maine, where she rents an old house named Brodie’s Watch, hoping to work on a cookbook inspired by New England cuisine that she’s been trying to finish for months. In that isolated seaside mansion, Ava finally feels at peace . . . until she glimpses the long-dead sea captain who still resides there.
Rumor has it that Captain Jeremiah Brodie has haunted the house for more than a century. One night, Ava confronts the apparition, who feels all too real, and who welcomes her into his world—and into his arms. Even as Ava questions her own sanity, she eagerly looks forward to the captain’s ghostly visits. But she soon learns that the house she loves comes with a terrible secret, a secret that those in the village don’t want to reveal: Every woman who has ever lived in Brodie’s Watch has also died there. Is the ghost of Captain Brodie responsible, or is a flesh-and-blood killer at work?"
The descriptive passages are terrific, bringing a long-dead ghost to life in vivid detail. I had no trouble at all picturing the house as it was in the Captain's time, or believing the scenarios in which Ava found herself. I could absolutely see Hannibal the cat as he helped to rid the old house of its mouse population. I could almost taste the wonderful flavors in the meals Ava was testing for her cookbook. And I could very nearly smell the sea.
As with many of the author's previous works, she kept me guessing right up until the big reveal - which I did not see coming. The Shape of Night is a well-written, fast-paced read with a satisfying conclusion, and I'd love to see more like this from this author. (But of course, keep writing those Rizzoli & Isles stories, too, please.) 😊
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